Kotori

Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus

Kotori is a male Great Horned Owl. He was found as a nestling and taken to a wildlife rehabilitator. During his first few weeks there, he developed an eye infection requiring him to have human interaction several times a day. For this reason, Kotori is known as a human imprint. Imprinting is a term that describes how many animals decide 'who they are'. It is a critical behavioral process in a growing animal and occurs during a period in which the young establish the concept of "parent" and "self". Taking place early in life, it is an irreversible process. Since Kotori spent much of his critical period with humans, he never realized the concept of being an owl and was unable to be released into the wild. The name Kotori comes from Native American origins meaning “owl spirit.”